I started this blog in February 2010 with the intention of chronicling my journey as an Air Force dentist and being a resource to help out people who had questions.
I was "scratching my own itch", if you will. I didn't see anything on the internet like what I wanted to read. So I made it myself.
500 emails, 250,000 page views, and a few phone calls later, I'd say it was quite a success.
After a long 10 years, I am finally in the process of leaving the military and acquiring a dental practice for myself. I can't say really anything more than that, but now you know. I've already learned a ton along the way, and I'm hoping to help military dentists get over the fear of transitioning into practice.
If you're a dentist (military or otherwise) considering transitioning to ownership, please contact me (my email is on the right side of the page)!
I would love to help you better understand if this is the right step for you and even do some help you look at different practice offers, associate contracts, or just brainstorm your next steps.
As for the future of this blog...
I've struggled recently trying to decide what direction to take it, if any, given the facts that:
1. I'm leaving the military (so the title doesn't work super well)
2. It makes me no money (so I can't sell it)
3. It's a very narrowly focused/designed blog (so there's not much else to explore)
However, I think it may be beneficial to continue my story in some way and I haven't quite decided if that will happen here at this domain or on some other blog that is tailored more towards my next phase in life. Stay tuned.
I've received literally hundreds of emails over the last decade and this blog has been a central location for those looking for information about military dentistry, the Air Force HPSP, dental school, and life in the military.
My email is still live, so keep the questions coming! Like I said at the top of the page, I'm welcoming any and all questions from those looking to transition to ownership.
It's been an honor and a pleasure, and I'm excited for the next step in my journey and helping you with yours.
Showing posts with label DAT. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DAT. Show all posts
Monday, June 24, 2019
Tuesday, November 27, 2018
8 Year Recap Post, FAQ, and My Future
This is an ambitious post. My goal is to make this post a very concise summary of my experiences over the last 8 years and answer some of the most common questions I receive via email, as well as an update on my future plans.
Before dental school
Recruiters
If you have even the slightest inclination that you might want to pursue the Air Force HPSP (Health Professions Scholarship Program) for dental school, contact a recruiter. There is a link on the right side of my blog, or you can find it HERE and select "Healthcare Student or Professional".
Unfortunately, the recruiting system gets a bad rap for being unresponsive and often unhelpful, so if you're having trouble getting in contact with a recruiter in your area, start looking outside your area and contact one of those instead. They can probably help you get in touch with your actual recruiter who isn't returning your calls and emails.
Application process
Everything flows through the recruiter. You need to be in decent shape, have excellent grades and DAT, and nail your interview.
For the interview, focus on all the generic questions (strengths, weaknesses, etc), but be prepared for additional questions like: Why do you want to be in the Air Force? Why do you think you would make a good Air Force officer? What leadership experience do you have?
You're an officer candidate, not just a potential Air Force dentist.
Choosing a school
Go to the school in the area with the cheapest cost of living! Your stipend does not change based on where you live, and you'll devour the stipend if you're living in Los Angeles vs living in Oklahoma. I spoke about this on the Choose FI podcast, episode 99R at minute 57:40.
During dental school
Money!
You get paid about $2,000/month during school, and the Air Force will pay all your other required bills directly. Some things (scrubs, loupes, books) will be on you to buy, and then you will submit some reimbursement paperwork to the Air Force. You should have some information of some contacts at AFIT that can help you out.
Military obligations
You don't have any! Yay!
After dental school/AEGD-1
COT
The timing of COT depends on your school summer schedule and when you commission, but most dentists go after dental school. You may find the COT Survival Guide helpful, but keep in mind that it was written in 2014. Also, check out the newest Air Force PT Test Score Charts to get an idea of where you'll land and start training for this test during dental school! Here's a good pushup and situp video to help you out, but remember, the official Air Force guidance on fitness is found here at A5.3 and A5.4.
AEGD-1
Unfortunately, my AEGD-1 experience was not all that great, but most students love their experience. Having said that, despite my misgivings about the training I received, the year itself was very formative for me personally and the experience was one that I count as one of the most pivotal in my life. I certainly must recommend the AEGD-1 for the sheer fact that it's going to be difficult to operate as an Air Force dentist without this advanced training, since the Air Force has their own system to "allow" you to do certain procedures (called "credentialing"). Even if you did a procedure in dental school, a residency may be required to do it in the Air Force (restoring implants, for example).
You are required to apply for, and accept, an AEGD-1 now. Not everyone will be accepted by the Air Force, but there's enough spots for most applicants. Plan on going.
As far as what base you get, you'll fill out a preference sheet just before your 4th year of dental school, but they could send you to any of the 12 or so AEGD bases. I don't really have any insight as to why they send people where they do.
Specializing
I get asked this question a lot, and it's a bit of a moving target. Some specialties do allow you to apply right out of dental school, while others want you to have a few years of experience (or an AEGD-1) under your belt first. Your AFIT contacts should have this information.
After residency/Being a dentist in the Air Force
Where will they send me?
Assuming you do an AEGD-1 like most Air Force dentists, you'll get a list of bases (in February-ish of your AEGD year) that need dentists and you'll get to rank them based on where you want to go. Unfortunately, while you do get a say, you're not guaranteed a top choice. I got my 16th choice, but it ended up being the best thing for me and my career.
I got to go to a small and remote base that was in dire need of organization and streamlining, as we were updating and planning for the arrival of a new F-35 squadron in the coming years. Previous officers hadn't systematized the clinic functions, but instead just relied on the people to run the place. When those people left, so did their ideas and processes, and the clinic was constantly starting over on processes when people would leave! I stepped into some roles that most young Captains don't get to experience, and got to hone my organizational and systematizing skills that would ultimately prove very valuable for my life and career.
What's a normal day like?
It depends on what base you go to, but a fresh Captain out of residency will usually be doing dentistry about 80% of the week. The rest of the time is set aside for training, PT time, or lunch. Expect to do a lot of restorative, with some single unit crowns sprinkled in as the mission permits and requires, and exams. If you did an AEGD and have the training, you'll probably be doing some IV sedation and restoring implants as well! Elective procedures (anterior crowns, veneers) will depend a lot on what the mission of your base is, and how well staffed the clinic is to suit your desires. I did almost no esthetic work at my first assignment, but a dentist at my new base is doing lots of anterior crowns and veneers because the mission is much less strenuous here.
What's the best part about being an Air Force dentist?
This depends on how you look at it. The normal answer is that you get to do dentistry without being pressured to produce a certain level of $, while having a nice slow pace to the day and getting lots of vacation time (as compared to a typical civilian corporate job). I think the "bad" things are actually good, and I detailed them a bit more in this post.
As far as vacation days go, you get 30 days per year that accumulate at a rate of 2.5 per month. It depends on the base's specific rules, but this 30 days usually does count the weekend.
If you leave on a Friday and come back Monday, that's 4 days you have to take off. Monday-Thursday would also be 4 days. Your "leave" days start and end in your local area. The definition of "local area" depends on your base's rules.
What's the worst part about being an Air Force dentist?
Again, this is going to be very personal, but I think the worst part is the slow pace and the lack of incentive to produce. However, there are lots of dentists that love this part of the job and would consider this a benefit, since they can take their time on their dental work and typically don't have to work any harder than they want to. You just need to know what Air Force dentistry is like and weigh your personality against it.
(If you didn't notice, I cheated here by using the same answer -- no pressure to produce -- for best and worst part, which leads me to...)
How is Air Force dentistry difference than civilian/private practice?
*These are my opinions from having worked in 2 civilian practices during my time as an Air Force dentist*
-Quality of work - I believe the Air Force tends to have higher work quality than most civilian providers. We don't have time pressures or too many cost pressures, so we typically get to spend as much time as we need to get things done the right way. Also, most of our dentists are a few years removed from a 1 year AEGD, which lends to even higher quality knowledge and care.
-Patient experience - I'll give the edge to private practice. I think most Air Force bases do not put enough emphasis on customer service, and our outdated charting system results in far too many records errors. However, there's a host of different ways this is managed on the civilian side, but at least on the civilian side, a dissatisfied patient can choose to take their business elsewhere. This is where the Air Force slips behind: our patients don't have options so we aren't incentivized to give them a good experience and we too frequently miss the mark.
-Clinic organizational structure - Unbelievably, I give the edge to private practice here, and it's not even close. One of the most surprising things to me about Air Force dentistry is how disorganized the organizational and accountability structure is at the clinic level. There's usually some holes in accountability and organization at some level that lets a litany of small problems leak through constantly. There's very little focus on creating good systems. Instead, most clinics rely on strong-willed individuals to run large portions of the clinic that end up suffering mightily when they depart for a new base. It seems there's no real training on "systems thinking" that would alleviate so much of the constant stress and little mistakes that occur daily in military dentistry. Everything I've learned about how to lead people, implement systems, and build/design a clinic has come almost exclusively from books I've chosen to read on my own. The military doesn't teach you this.
The biggest problem here is that, contrary to popular belief, there's just no incentive to be organized in the military because our patients are walking through the door and our appointment books are filled no matter what we do. Most are content to do "enough" and never really get to the point of optimizing and organizing things so they actually run as smoothly as possible. Things run satisfactorily, and that's all that matters to most.
For example, both bases I've been at didn't even have a consistent system to ensure the same items were reordered properly each time something ran out! There aren't even consistent locations for some items to be stored, so if they're out, it's impossible to know what was there without consulting someone who had the room memorized. (This is one area I've worked on at both of my bases to eliminate waste and confusion. It's usually just as simple as placing the order number and item name on standard containers and ensuring that 100% of items coming into the clinic have a permanent location, that everyone agrees on 1 method for altering the Logistics person that an item is low, and items don't just get tossed on a shelf or into a room.) If a certain person out for the week, good luck.
Often, an item would run out and there would be no accountability until the clinic was in an "emergency shortage" and had to rush order the item to the clinic. Fortunately, we have all the time in the world to do dentistry so typically these errors just result in rescheduling the patient or doing some less efficient procedure to get the job done. The minimal consequences of being disorganized tend to perpetuate the "good enough" mindset.
*Caveat: Most military clinics are far larger than civilian clinics, and the disorganization is far more obvious the bigger you get. Small civilian clinics can often survive (and typically do) just on the personality of the lead dentist, with little regard for attempting to imagine the business as a prototype model for a franchise (a la "The E-Myth"), but this fails in a military setting because there's always more than 1 dentist. Large civilian clinics that are poorly organized simply can't maintain their business structure and end up closing or restructuring. Large military clinics, on the other hand, stay open no matter what. In my experience, the larger the civilian clinic (if it's been open for a few years), the more organized it is vs a smaller 1-doctor civilian clinic.
-Employees - This is a touchy subject, so I'll tread lightly. I'm calling this one a tie. Here's why.
In the military, we sometimes get people that just flat out don't want to be in the dental field. Some have personalities and skillsets that are more well suited for some non-medical field. These kinds of people probably wouldn't last long in private dentistry (but to be fair, they would have never wanted to work there in the first place!). But, in the civilian world, you have an outrageous 60% (or more) of dentists that will be subject to embezzlement at some point in their career. That sucks! Civilian employees are no more saints than the military employees that don't care about their job but at least the military ones aren't stealing money from you.
Here's a huge positive with the military side: sometimes you get outstanding coworkers that have big dreams and aspirations and they understand that their performance in whatever job they have is an important stepping stone to the life they want. These are true gems and a total win for the military. Many civilians aren't thinking about the next thing, but in the military, some are constantly focused on learning and growing and getting to the next step, and it makes them valuable assets to your clinic.
In the end, people are people, including dentists. If you don't want to worry about hiring and firing, but also can't cultivate the team you want, the military is the way to go. If you're able to have those hard conversations, listen to your employees, facilitate their personal growth, and have studied and practice leadership and management, private practice is the way to go because you can create the office culture you want with the people you hire vs using the people you're given that may not want to be there. It's up to YOU as the dentist (and the officer) to create the culture you want and use the strong ones as your pillars while you build a new culture (military) or team (civilian).
Are you going to stay in the military? Why/why not?
I'm not staying in. I have a lot of personal reasons for this, but here are the top 3:
1. I believe that my experiences and skills can better serve humanity in a civilian setting
The Air Force is great, but it has its limitations. I can't run a clinic how I want to, I can't hire and fire, and I can't do the dentistry I want to do. Promotions happen in a stepwise manner, and your leadership skills don't really have any bearing on how quickly you can get into a command position. It has to do with your rank, which has to do with your time in service. I'm not a huge fan of the "wait and get promoted" style that the military uses to choose their leaders. Even if I could get into a command position, I don't get to choose who works at the clinic, and that can be a big hindrance to the development and progression of a clinical mission.
At the end of the day, I have a strong will and lots of leadership experience that is just going to take me far too long to manifest in the military setting. The limitations of the military also come with a lot of safety nets that suit many dentists very well, but not me. If they would make me commander of a clinic and double my pay, I'd think about it ;)
2. More time freedom
Notice how I did not say "more money". That's not a typo. I don't necessarily want more money, but what I want is more choices.
One "benefit" of the military is getting 30 days paid vacation every year plus a lot of federal holidays. But you know what? I still have to come to work 5 days per week, do a lot of non-dental stuff, and generally spend a lot of time doing dental work at a slow pace that I could accomplish in half the time. Lots of dentists in the military do less dentistry than me (and many do more), but we all still have the same schedule.
I could walk out right now and work 3 days a week and easily make the same amount of money. Or, I could work 5 days/week and make 2x as much as I'm making now. So what's the big deal about all these "days off" in the military? It's a logical fallacy in my opinion.
Which one is better -- making more money or working less? It's personal. It's about having the options.
Right now, my plan is to leave, buy a practice, implement my vision and systems, maximize productivity and systematize an outstanding patient experience using new technology and beautiful office esthetics, serve my community well, and have the freedom to work far less than I do right now.
Time is the currency of life. Don't let someone in the military use the "days off" argument as a way to convince you that you have more time freedom as a military dentist, because it's not true. Your skills have an extremely high value in the civilian world that, when leveraged properly, is far more valuable than what the military can offer you.
It takes more work to be a leader in the civilian sector than the military sector, but it's worth it. Read some leadership books, work on your management and leadership skills, and build a practice that lets you build a life of your choosing and take off half the year if you want to. We can't get our time back.
3. Self-actualization
I've read about 100 books in the last 2 years. I firmly believe that knowledge without action is worthless, so I've put a lot of action behind what I've learned. I've completely changed my diet, my workout routine, my morning routine, my habits, my beliefs about myself, and the way I handle stress (among many other things). I've also come to the realization that the life I envision for myself is not possible in the military.
Despite my emphatic shouts of "you must do the military for dental school", I firmly believe that a 3-4 year commitment, when utilized properly, is plenty of time to wrap your head around what it is you want for your life, your family, and your legacy on this planet.
This is getting a bit philosophical, but I mean it wholeheartedly. I have big plans and visions for my life, and I personally feel I would be doing a disservice to myself and those around me if I stayed in the military at this point. What I want for my life can't be accomplished in a military setting, and I feel it's time to break free and start to build that new life.
I must admit, when I graduated from my AEGD-1 residency, I was lost. I hadn't read more than a couple books that year, I was not confident in my dental or leadership skills, I had failed part of a PT test (and had it wiped from my record on a technicality), and I was generally confused about my future and what I had to offer.
But, over the course of the last 2-3 years, I started following and listening to leaders from all walks of life and came across a common theme: leaders are readers. So I started reading again.
It became an obsession that has continued to this day. I don't recognize the lost, confused, and complacent version of myself from 2014 and 2015. I'm a new person and I have books to thank for it. Those that know me from back then would be shocked at this statement, because I've always been driven, but I had lost my personal identity on what, exactly, I was driving towards.
I can't unread what I've read, or unthink the thoughts these authors have given me. I have a new confidence in my life and in my future, and I'm excited for the next step of my journey.
It is with no bitterness or resentment that I will wave goodbye to the Air Force, but instead, give it a warm farewell for a phase of life that broke me down, reshaped me, and sent me on my way with the confidence to design a life well lived.
--
As always, feel free to email me with any questions!
Before dental school
Recruiters
If you have even the slightest inclination that you might want to pursue the Air Force HPSP (Health Professions Scholarship Program) for dental school, contact a recruiter. There is a link on the right side of my blog, or you can find it HERE and select "Healthcare Student or Professional".
Unfortunately, the recruiting system gets a bad rap for being unresponsive and often unhelpful, so if you're having trouble getting in contact with a recruiter in your area, start looking outside your area and contact one of those instead. They can probably help you get in touch with your actual recruiter who isn't returning your calls and emails.
Application process
Everything flows through the recruiter. You need to be in decent shape, have excellent grades and DAT, and nail your interview.
For the interview, focus on all the generic questions (strengths, weaknesses, etc), but be prepared for additional questions like: Why do you want to be in the Air Force? Why do you think you would make a good Air Force officer? What leadership experience do you have?
You're an officer candidate, not just a potential Air Force dentist.
Choosing a school
Go to the school in the area with the cheapest cost of living! Your stipend does not change based on where you live, and you'll devour the stipend if you're living in Los Angeles vs living in Oklahoma. I spoke about this on the Choose FI podcast, episode 99R at minute 57:40.
During dental school
Money!
You get paid about $2,000/month during school, and the Air Force will pay all your other required bills directly. Some things (scrubs, loupes, books) will be on you to buy, and then you will submit some reimbursement paperwork to the Air Force. You should have some information of some contacts at AFIT that can help you out.
Military obligations
You don't have any! Yay!
After dental school/AEGD-1
COT
The timing of COT depends on your school summer schedule and when you commission, but most dentists go after dental school. You may find the COT Survival Guide helpful, but keep in mind that it was written in 2014. Also, check out the newest Air Force PT Test Score Charts to get an idea of where you'll land and start training for this test during dental school! Here's a good pushup and situp video to help you out, but remember, the official Air Force guidance on fitness is found here at A5.3 and A5.4.
AEGD-1
Unfortunately, my AEGD-1 experience was not all that great, but most students love their experience. Having said that, despite my misgivings about the training I received, the year itself was very formative for me personally and the experience was one that I count as one of the most pivotal in my life. I certainly must recommend the AEGD-1 for the sheer fact that it's going to be difficult to operate as an Air Force dentist without this advanced training, since the Air Force has their own system to "allow" you to do certain procedures (called "credentialing"). Even if you did a procedure in dental school, a residency may be required to do it in the Air Force (restoring implants, for example).
You are required to apply for, and accept, an AEGD-1 now. Not everyone will be accepted by the Air Force, but there's enough spots for most applicants. Plan on going.
As far as what base you get, you'll fill out a preference sheet just before your 4th year of dental school, but they could send you to any of the 12 or so AEGD bases. I don't really have any insight as to why they send people where they do.
Specializing
I get asked this question a lot, and it's a bit of a moving target. Some specialties do allow you to apply right out of dental school, while others want you to have a few years of experience (or an AEGD-1) under your belt first. Your AFIT contacts should have this information.
After residency/Being a dentist in the Air Force
Where will they send me?
Assuming you do an AEGD-1 like most Air Force dentists, you'll get a list of bases (in February-ish of your AEGD year) that need dentists and you'll get to rank them based on where you want to go. Unfortunately, while you do get a say, you're not guaranteed a top choice. I got my 16th choice, but it ended up being the best thing for me and my career.
I got to go to a small and remote base that was in dire need of organization and streamlining, as we were updating and planning for the arrival of a new F-35 squadron in the coming years. Previous officers hadn't systematized the clinic functions, but instead just relied on the people to run the place. When those people left, so did their ideas and processes, and the clinic was constantly starting over on processes when people would leave! I stepped into some roles that most young Captains don't get to experience, and got to hone my organizational and systematizing skills that would ultimately prove very valuable for my life and career.
What's a normal day like?
It depends on what base you go to, but a fresh Captain out of residency will usually be doing dentistry about 80% of the week. The rest of the time is set aside for training, PT time, or lunch. Expect to do a lot of restorative, with some single unit crowns sprinkled in as the mission permits and requires, and exams. If you did an AEGD and have the training, you'll probably be doing some IV sedation and restoring implants as well! Elective procedures (anterior crowns, veneers) will depend a lot on what the mission of your base is, and how well staffed the clinic is to suit your desires. I did almost no esthetic work at my first assignment, but a dentist at my new base is doing lots of anterior crowns and veneers because the mission is much less strenuous here.
What's the best part about being an Air Force dentist?
This depends on how you look at it. The normal answer is that you get to do dentistry without being pressured to produce a certain level of $, while having a nice slow pace to the day and getting lots of vacation time (as compared to a typical civilian corporate job). I think the "bad" things are actually good, and I detailed them a bit more in this post.
As far as vacation days go, you get 30 days per year that accumulate at a rate of 2.5 per month. It depends on the base's specific rules, but this 30 days usually does count the weekend.
If you leave on a Friday and come back Monday, that's 4 days you have to take off. Monday-Thursday would also be 4 days. Your "leave" days start and end in your local area. The definition of "local area" depends on your base's rules.
What's the worst part about being an Air Force dentist?
Again, this is going to be very personal, but I think the worst part is the slow pace and the lack of incentive to produce. However, there are lots of dentists that love this part of the job and would consider this a benefit, since they can take their time on their dental work and typically don't have to work any harder than they want to. You just need to know what Air Force dentistry is like and weigh your personality against it.
(If you didn't notice, I cheated here by using the same answer -- no pressure to produce -- for best and worst part, which leads me to...)
How is Air Force dentistry difference than civilian/private practice?
*These are my opinions from having worked in 2 civilian practices during my time as an Air Force dentist*
-Quality of work - I believe the Air Force tends to have higher work quality than most civilian providers. We don't have time pressures or too many cost pressures, so we typically get to spend as much time as we need to get things done the right way. Also, most of our dentists are a few years removed from a 1 year AEGD, which lends to even higher quality knowledge and care.
-Patient experience - I'll give the edge to private practice. I think most Air Force bases do not put enough emphasis on customer service, and our outdated charting system results in far too many records errors. However, there's a host of different ways this is managed on the civilian side, but at least on the civilian side, a dissatisfied patient can choose to take their business elsewhere. This is where the Air Force slips behind: our patients don't have options so we aren't incentivized to give them a good experience and we too frequently miss the mark.
-Clinic organizational structure - Unbelievably, I give the edge to private practice here, and it's not even close. One of the most surprising things to me about Air Force dentistry is how disorganized the organizational and accountability structure is at the clinic level. There's usually some holes in accountability and organization at some level that lets a litany of small problems leak through constantly. There's very little focus on creating good systems. Instead, most clinics rely on strong-willed individuals to run large portions of the clinic that end up suffering mightily when they depart for a new base. It seems there's no real training on "systems thinking" that would alleviate so much of the constant stress and little mistakes that occur daily in military dentistry. Everything I've learned about how to lead people, implement systems, and build/design a clinic has come almost exclusively from books I've chosen to read on my own. The military doesn't teach you this.
The biggest problem here is that, contrary to popular belief, there's just no incentive to be organized in the military because our patients are walking through the door and our appointment books are filled no matter what we do. Most are content to do "enough" and never really get to the point of optimizing and organizing things so they actually run as smoothly as possible. Things run satisfactorily, and that's all that matters to most.
For example, both bases I've been at didn't even have a consistent system to ensure the same items were reordered properly each time something ran out! There aren't even consistent locations for some items to be stored, so if they're out, it's impossible to know what was there without consulting someone who had the room memorized. (This is one area I've worked on at both of my bases to eliminate waste and confusion. It's usually just as simple as placing the order number and item name on standard containers and ensuring that 100% of items coming into the clinic have a permanent location, that everyone agrees on 1 method for altering the Logistics person that an item is low, and items don't just get tossed on a shelf or into a room.) If a certain person out for the week, good luck.
Often, an item would run out and there would be no accountability until the clinic was in an "emergency shortage" and had to rush order the item to the clinic. Fortunately, we have all the time in the world to do dentistry so typically these errors just result in rescheduling the patient or doing some less efficient procedure to get the job done. The minimal consequences of being disorganized tend to perpetuate the "good enough" mindset.
*Caveat: Most military clinics are far larger than civilian clinics, and the disorganization is far more obvious the bigger you get. Small civilian clinics can often survive (and typically do) just on the personality of the lead dentist, with little regard for attempting to imagine the business as a prototype model for a franchise (a la "The E-Myth"), but this fails in a military setting because there's always more than 1 dentist. Large civilian clinics that are poorly organized simply can't maintain their business structure and end up closing or restructuring. Large military clinics, on the other hand, stay open no matter what. In my experience, the larger the civilian clinic (if it's been open for a few years), the more organized it is vs a smaller 1-doctor civilian clinic.
-Employees - This is a touchy subject, so I'll tread lightly. I'm calling this one a tie. Here's why.
In the military, we sometimes get people that just flat out don't want to be in the dental field. Some have personalities and skillsets that are more well suited for some non-medical field. These kinds of people probably wouldn't last long in private dentistry (but to be fair, they would have never wanted to work there in the first place!). But, in the civilian world, you have an outrageous 60% (or more) of dentists that will be subject to embezzlement at some point in their career. That sucks! Civilian employees are no more saints than the military employees that don't care about their job but at least the military ones aren't stealing money from you.
Here's a huge positive with the military side: sometimes you get outstanding coworkers that have big dreams and aspirations and they understand that their performance in whatever job they have is an important stepping stone to the life they want. These are true gems and a total win for the military. Many civilians aren't thinking about the next thing, but in the military, some are constantly focused on learning and growing and getting to the next step, and it makes them valuable assets to your clinic.
In the end, people are people, including dentists. If you don't want to worry about hiring and firing, but also can't cultivate the team you want, the military is the way to go. If you're able to have those hard conversations, listen to your employees, facilitate their personal growth, and have studied and practice leadership and management, private practice is the way to go because you can create the office culture you want with the people you hire vs using the people you're given that may not want to be there. It's up to YOU as the dentist (and the officer) to create the culture you want and use the strong ones as your pillars while you build a new culture (military) or team (civilian).
Are you going to stay in the military? Why/why not?
I'm not staying in. I have a lot of personal reasons for this, but here are the top 3:
1. I believe that my experiences and skills can better serve humanity in a civilian setting
The Air Force is great, but it has its limitations. I can't run a clinic how I want to, I can't hire and fire, and I can't do the dentistry I want to do. Promotions happen in a stepwise manner, and your leadership skills don't really have any bearing on how quickly you can get into a command position. It has to do with your rank, which has to do with your time in service. I'm not a huge fan of the "wait and get promoted" style that the military uses to choose their leaders. Even if I could get into a command position, I don't get to choose who works at the clinic, and that can be a big hindrance to the development and progression of a clinical mission.
At the end of the day, I have a strong will and lots of leadership experience that is just going to take me far too long to manifest in the military setting. The limitations of the military also come with a lot of safety nets that suit many dentists very well, but not me. If they would make me commander of a clinic and double my pay, I'd think about it ;)
2. More time freedom
Notice how I did not say "more money". That's not a typo. I don't necessarily want more money, but what I want is more choices.
One "benefit" of the military is getting 30 days paid vacation every year plus a lot of federal holidays. But you know what? I still have to come to work 5 days per week, do a lot of non-dental stuff, and generally spend a lot of time doing dental work at a slow pace that I could accomplish in half the time. Lots of dentists in the military do less dentistry than me (and many do more), but we all still have the same schedule.
I could walk out right now and work 3 days a week and easily make the same amount of money. Or, I could work 5 days/week and make 2x as much as I'm making now. So what's the big deal about all these "days off" in the military? It's a logical fallacy in my opinion.
Which one is better -- making more money or working less? It's personal. It's about having the options.
Right now, my plan is to leave, buy a practice, implement my vision and systems, maximize productivity and systematize an outstanding patient experience using new technology and beautiful office esthetics, serve my community well, and have the freedom to work far less than I do right now.
Time is the currency of life. Don't let someone in the military use the "days off" argument as a way to convince you that you have more time freedom as a military dentist, because it's not true. Your skills have an extremely high value in the civilian world that, when leveraged properly, is far more valuable than what the military can offer you.
It takes more work to be a leader in the civilian sector than the military sector, but it's worth it. Read some leadership books, work on your management and leadership skills, and build a practice that lets you build a life of your choosing and take off half the year if you want to. We can't get our time back.
3. Self-actualization
I've read about 100 books in the last 2 years. I firmly believe that knowledge without action is worthless, so I've put a lot of action behind what I've learned. I've completely changed my diet, my workout routine, my morning routine, my habits, my beliefs about myself, and the way I handle stress (among many other things). I've also come to the realization that the life I envision for myself is not possible in the military.
Despite my emphatic shouts of "you must do the military for dental school", I firmly believe that a 3-4 year commitment, when utilized properly, is plenty of time to wrap your head around what it is you want for your life, your family, and your legacy on this planet.
This is getting a bit philosophical, but I mean it wholeheartedly. I have big plans and visions for my life, and I personally feel I would be doing a disservice to myself and those around me if I stayed in the military at this point. What I want for my life can't be accomplished in a military setting, and I feel it's time to break free and start to build that new life.
I must admit, when I graduated from my AEGD-1 residency, I was lost. I hadn't read more than a couple books that year, I was not confident in my dental or leadership skills, I had failed part of a PT test (and had it wiped from my record on a technicality), and I was generally confused about my future and what I had to offer.
But, over the course of the last 2-3 years, I started following and listening to leaders from all walks of life and came across a common theme: leaders are readers. So I started reading again.
It became an obsession that has continued to this day. I don't recognize the lost, confused, and complacent version of myself from 2014 and 2015. I'm a new person and I have books to thank for it. Those that know me from back then would be shocked at this statement, because I've always been driven, but I had lost my personal identity on what, exactly, I was driving towards.
I can't unread what I've read, or unthink the thoughts these authors have given me. I have a new confidence in my life and in my future, and I'm excited for the next step of my journey.
It is with no bitterness or resentment that I will wave goodbye to the Air Force, but instead, give it a warm farewell for a phase of life that broke me down, reshaped me, and sent me on my way with the confidence to design a life well lived.
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As always, feel free to email me with any questions!
Friday, May 16, 2014
"I'm a Dentist, Don't Get Too Excited"
"... and if someone has a heart attack you should still call 911."
For the movie people out there you'll recognize this line from The Hangover. It's a scene where Stu mentions something about being a doctor and his friend calls him out saying "he's a dentist, don't get too excited."
So here I am, finally done with school, and a dentist. But don't get too excited because for me this is really just the beginning. I've dreamed of this for a long time but really this is just my permission to being my career in a field that I find really fun and allows me to directly serve others. Toss in the Air Force gig and you've got the whole package. It really is a dream come true, I'm finally Dr. Matthew Lee!
But let's not get ahead of ourselves. I haven't blogged in a solid 2 months and more happened in those 2 months than I can even wrap my head around right now. So let's rewind the tape:
1) WREB - Western Regional Examining Board
This was the regional exam I elected to take because I planned to get a license in Oklahoma and it was available at my school. Pretty easy decision. For the Air Force I can get a license anywhere but my home state is as easy as any. Details aside, I had to organize the back-up patient pool (since I was class president) and I'm glad I did because it really bailed a few people out. One of my patients was my brother and the other patient was not related to me but due to HIPAA, that's all I can really tell you. But he/she was wonderful. My endo section went very smoothly and I passed everything!
Here were my scores:
For the movie people out there you'll recognize this line from The Hangover. It's a scene where Stu mentions something about being a doctor and his friend calls him out saying "he's a dentist, don't get too excited."
So here I am, finally done with school, and a dentist. But don't get too excited because for me this is really just the beginning. I've dreamed of this for a long time but really this is just my permission to being my career in a field that I find really fun and allows me to directly serve others. Toss in the Air Force gig and you've got the whole package. It really is a dream come true, I'm finally Dr. Matthew Lee!
But let's not get ahead of ourselves. I haven't blogged in a solid 2 months and more happened in those 2 months than I can even wrap my head around right now. So let's rewind the tape:
1) WREB - Western Regional Examining Board
This was the regional exam I elected to take because I planned to get a license in Oklahoma and it was available at my school. Pretty easy decision. For the Air Force I can get a license anywhere but my home state is as easy as any. Details aside, I had to organize the back-up patient pool (since I was class president) and I'm glad I did because it really bailed a few people out. One of my patients was my brother and the other patient was not related to me but due to HIPAA, that's all I can really tell you. But he/she was wonderful. My endo section went very smoothly and I passed everything!
Here were my scores:
Not too bad! Things went well and that was definitely the most stressful test of my life since the DAT.
2) Graduation requirements
This fell into place very nicely for me and I was fortunate that it did. I borrowed a crown prep from another student in case the 2 I had left fell through and I'm glad I did. I had just enough points to graduate and, in fact, both of the crowns in my patient family ended up falling through. Imagine that! Endo was a minor nightmare for many folks and I scrapped by with exactly how many I needed to graduate. It's a shame too because I actually found endodontics to be very fun and I'm really excited to learn some new methods to perform root canals in the future (Wave One?).
3) Speech! Speech! Speech!
So one of the cooler things I got to do as president was give a speech at our Senior Dinner. This is a few days before graduation and it's where our class along with their close family and our faculty get together and eat expensive food together and dress really nice. It's a blast (I had to help last year so I had been once before) and once of the best memories I'll have of dental school.
Back to the speech part. I had to give a speech (aka "reflection statements") and I found that very exciting. I'm usually quite introverted and typically don't assert myself unless it's requested of me. When it is requested of me, I go all out and try to do my best. I got a lot of compliments after the speech which was very nice to hear and a comment I heard a lot was "I had no idea you were so funny"! Well if you were class president for 3 years and constantly stressing out about not only yourself but everyone else, you'd be a pretty serious person, too. That was over and I could be myself and my true colors came out I suppose.
One of the coolest parts about the speech was when I promoted the hashtag #oucod2014 at the beginning. To do that I busted out my iPhone and took a panoramic x-ray picture of the audience and tweeted it to @oucod2014, our official class Twitter account. I encouraged people throughout the weekend to use #oucod2014 on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter so we could go back and search "#oucod2014" and pull up a bunch of posts and pictures from that night and the next few days, including graduation. We actually had pretty good participation and it was a lot of fun. Here's the pano I took on stage as well as a picture of me taking it:
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| It was more awkward for them than me, watching me slowly take a picture of everyone |
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| Photo by Shak Feroz |
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| Photo by Shak Feroz |
4) Email this paper and now you're a Captain
I have had tons of forms to fill out for the Air Force which I will definitely not go into (at least not here). One of them was my new Oath of Office. It doesn't actually have to be signed by someone in the military, just a Notary Public. I went that route since he had someone in that capacity at our school. I got the form from her in a PDF and sent it off to the proper Air Force authority. A couples hours later I got a replying saying I was "good to go" so I'm pretty sure that means I'm a captain now.
Cool!
We're moving to Colorado Springs at the end of June, I'm flying out to COT on June 30, back to Colorado Springs on Aug 1, and my AEGD starts on Aug 5. Whew!
That's all for now, sorry I've been such a bum about posting lately. I hope to ramp this up more soon and flesh out some of the static pages on this site as well to have more information available. I want to comb back through all the hundreds (seriously) of emails I've gotten from you guys and make sure all the relevant questions are addressed on the "Got a Question?" page.
Until I post again, email me if you have questions! And in the meantime, check out my official website at MatthewLeeDDS.com!
Monday, February 15, 2010
The good old college days
College was (as it is for most) a time of immense change. As I left off in my earlier post, I left high school thinking I wanted to be an architect and came into college thinking maybe an architect, engineer, or doctor. All of them sounded like quite lofty goals, and I had no idea what was coming my way...
Freshman year, my first class (ever) was engineering calculus. About 30 minutes of sitting in that class scared the heck out of me and I decided to drop it and just forget engineering. Seriously... I dropped my first college class ever. Once again, math was my barrier and I wasn't willing to jump over it. So I switched into thinking about medicine, my other idea when I came into college.
That first semester, I also took a class called "Intro to Health Professions", which is what really turned me from medicine to dentistry. I heard a dentist come in and talk about how he liked the fusion of medicine and detail work (the kind of detail work that my architecture/engineering style mind loved to do). So I started going to some Pre-Dental Club meetings and next thing you know... I was hooked.
I met an orthodontist at Pre-Dental Club named Dr. Revels and he was a life-saver for me. I shadowed him quite a bit and he ended up writing one of my letters of recommendation when I eventually applied to dental school. He also was a big reason I pursued the Air Force HPSP (check the top of the page for more details on what that is) scholarship for dental school.
I made sure to keep up my grades, and suffered only 1 B (intro to psychology... WHAT?!) so I was on the right track.
Sophomore year, I hit the dentistry thing at full speed. I was elected as the Vice President of Communications of my fraternity and Secretary of the Pre-Dental Club. I also managed all A's through fairly rigorous science courses. My main focus this year was expanding myself. I tried to not just focus on grades but also on volunteering, leadership, etc. I kept up with my shadowing (for those that don't know what this means, check out the 'Pre-Dental Process' tab up top) and made sure I was taking the right classes. I started to understand the amount of work it was going to take to get into dental school and I soon found out that studying was going to be an every day thing. As I'll explain later, it certainly paid off.
Another thing I started doing during this year was taking summer, december, and may intersession classes. I didn't always NEED them (in one case, with Organic Chemistry 1, I actually did need it ASAP and took it summer between Soph and Junior yr.) but I took them just because I had to have them eventually and it gave me something to do. This eventually let me graduate early, which I'll discuss later.
Overall, this was sort of my 'plug away' year. I expanded my horizons and got involved with lots of different things and hit them all at full steam. I had managed to come away with all but 1 A freshman year and nailed a 4.0 both semesters of my sophomore year. As I would find out shortly, however, grades and leadership weren't enough to get into dental school... during my Junior year, I met the giant DAT monster.
Junior year, my classes were even harder... but I was more prepared to handle them. Despite this, I wound up with another B (Biochemistry) and ran for office again in my fraternity (this time, a relative downgrade to 'parking chair'... which was no fun at all) and in Pre-Dental Club (an upgrade here, to president!). So with my leadership rocking along and my grades holding steady, I faced a foe that tested me to the core.
In October of my Junior year (before I was elected to my new offices in December) I took a practice DAT for free with Kaplan. There are lots of these available, check out 'Pre-Dental' for links in your area. I scored a meager 15 but it was enough to convince me that I had the base knowledge required to shoot for an early try... my goal was to study over Christmas break and take it just before I went back to school in late January. A lofty goal indeed. For a breakdown of the DAT and how to prepare for it, go up top to the 'DAT' section.
Long story short, I did well enough to be pretty happy with my score (that is, after I freaked out 3 days before I was supposed to take the test, moved it back a week, got sick, had my car die the morning of the test... you know... the usual).
So there I was. Grades where I wanted them, lots of leadership and shadowing, and a solid DAT score. Now for the hard part... actually getting in to dental school.
Side note: I actually discovered that I could graduate early from all of the summer/intersession classes I took. Fantastic! This would end up cutting my Senior year into a Senior semester.
Summer between Junior and Senior year... this was when all the applying went down. I applied to USC, OU, Marquette, Nova Southeastern, and Creighton. I had very good reasons for each (in a way...) and I was happy with my choices. I pretty much spent the summer working and getting all my application stuff together as well as getting my letters of recommendation together...
Oh, and this was the time I started seriously looking into the Air Force HPSP.
Senior Year... Um actually, this turned out to be more like a half year, like I said earlier. This was the tail end of me being president of the Pre-Dental Club which was a great experience. I took my capstone class, as well as some other classes, and finished up with my college journey! But what about dental school?...
In October, I got an interview request from both Nova and USC... I pushed my Nova interview from mid-October to Dec 18 (in hopes that OU would take me on December 1) and I had no choice but to go out to USC when they offered so I got a nice little mid-semester trip to LA! OU got in touch with me in November and I went to that interview in early November.
On December 1, I got an e-mail from the OU College of Dentistry telling me I was accepted to dental school! My brain let out this massive sigh of relief that it had been holding back for the last 3 years and I promptly withdrew my application from all other schools once my deposit at OU was paid a few weeks later.
Around the end of my semester, I got a job as a high school math and chemistry tutor with a lady that is friends with my dad. I must say, it was the luckiest thing that happened to me because I was looking at possibly waiting tables again for a whole 6 months from January to July... and I just wasn't too excited about it.
(I also got accepted to the 4 year Air Force HPSP in early February 2010... I know that's not really Senior year, but we'll count it.)
So I'm accepted to dental school, accepted to the Air Force HPSP, and tutoring about 20 hours a week...
And that is where I am now... so read on and see what's going on with me right now!
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